Charlie Bone and the Firestarter
by Luckie Punk
Summary: I've got good news, and bad news. Good news? I'm a fairly powerful Fire Starter. Powerful enough to be feared. Bad news? Um...just about everything else. And I thought school was bad before. T, for some battle sequences, cursing, and
1. Chapter 1

So...I found this fanfiction stored depp in the confines of my laptop. Like, buried underneath everything else. xD Be gentle, my Bloors Academy brethren. It's my first try at a Bone fanfic.

So...yeah. Sorry it's a little short.

* * *

Tancred Torsson stepped off the bus, brushing his blond hair back with a cocky grin on his face. His green cloak was already draped over his shoulders, but the sleeves were rolled up with nonchalance. His backpack, beat up, faded gray, was slung over one shoulder.

Many wouldn't have recognized him without his best friend, Lysander Sage, right next to him, but Lysander had been sick all weekend with a bad flu. So, he was arriving alone. His stormy eyes gave the grounds of Bloor's Academy a quick sweep. He sighed, resigning himself to walking into the school…when he noticed something a bit out of the ordinary.

A girl he didn't recognize was dragging a GIGANTIC, black instrument case behind her. And she seemed to be struggling with it. She paused every now and again to take a break, and then started dragging it again. She received many glares from the snootier students, sneering at the noise. He heard one of the boys made a rude comment, "This is why weak girls shouldn't be toting around such noisy instruments!" A drama boy. Tancred rolled his eyes, about to walk over to defend the girl, but she did something surprising. He couldn't help but laugh when she swiveled around to face one of the snickering boys. "What? You wanna be a gentleman and help with this, or are you gonna stand there and snigger like an idiot?" He hurried away, and she called, "Yeah, thought so!"

His smile softened when he noticed her huff. He walked towards her, able to keep steady pace with the gargantuan case. "That's a big instrument for a little girl like you, isn't it?" he asked, tone joking.

She turned, and his eyes widened. He stifled a gasp, smothering it with a sheepish grin.

Who did she remind him of?

She had chocolate brown hair, slightly golden where the few beams of sunlight hit it and darkly warm in the cloud's overhang. It fell to her shoulders in a feathery sort of manner. She was pale, with a spatter of freckles over the bridge of her nose. She had a skinny frame with thin wrists, but she quite obviously had hips. Her eyes were a blackberry brown sort of color, deep, slightly dark, but not menacing. Around her neck was a pair of large, puffy headphones.

"Big hair for a small guy," she said, breaking him out of his daze. She smiled ever so slightly and added, "Yeah, I talk. Take a picture, it'll last longer."

"Hey, now!" he exclaimed playfully. He easily had three inches on her, possibly even more. "I wouldn't be cracking short jokes at _your_ height!"

She laughed, letting out a, "Phew," as she rested the instrument (whatever it was) on the ground. Tancred shook himself to keep from staring and asked, "Want me to help you with that?"

She looked a little surprised. But she recovered quickly and said, "Um…sure. Yeah. That'd be helpful, actually."

"Great," he smiled. She smiled as well, then said, "Grab that side handle right there, yeah, that one. Count of go, lift. Ready, steady, go!" With a heave, they both lifted their sides. Tancred hurriedly tried to grab more weight on his end, as the girl was struggling slightly. They walked into the building, laughing as they struggled. "I don't know where to go!" she laughed, groaning at the same time.

"Music room, we can drop it off there. That's what you're here for, isn't it?" He said this as he walked. She bit her lip, and then replied, "Yeah. Music." He thought she added something under her breath, but he couldn't be sure. They walked as fast as they could.

Finally, they reached the secluded instrument room of the Music wing. "Careful, ease it down…" they set it down gently, and collapsed on their butts, sighing and giggling a little. He wiped his forehead, one eye open as he grinned at her. "So, what exactly is that thing?"

"That," she nudged it with her foot, "is my bass. His name is Iggy." Tancred looked at her questioningly…she laughed, blushing. "I hav-had really weird friends."

"You're not from around here, are you?"

She shook her head. "Just moved to London about a week ago from California." She stood up, and then offered a hand to Tancred. He took it, and she helped him up. Her hand was surprisingly warm…burning, almost. She saw his face and withdrew quickly, then said, "So, I don't know your name. Unless you'd prefer I call you Blondie." Her grin was so mischievous, he had to smile back. He offered his hand. "Tancred Torsson."

Her smile went a little wider as she took his hand and shook it, withdrawing quickly again. Did she have a fever? "Torsson. Hi. I'm Margot Blythe." Tancred's face heated up a little…last names? The girl meant business.

"Blythe. Hey." They looked at each other for a split second, and then averted their gazes, laughing nervously. "So, ah, you got anybody to show you around?"

She was about to open her mouth when the bell rang. "Oh, crud." She hurried away, Tancred behind her. They parted at the assembly doors, so she could file in with the rest of the music students. "Yeah, actually. Kid named Dagbert Endless. Nice meetin' ya, Torsson!" With a wave, she disappeared into the crowd.

He hadn't time to tell her that her guide was a dangerous drowner and his greatest enemy.

* * *

So...where the heck is Tracy? (or whatever that girl's name is.) Is Margot endowed? (Of course she is!) Is she a Mary Sue? (Please tell me if you think so. That means I have to adjust her.)

Please review, and thank you for reading!!


	2. Chapter 2

Well, first of all, I want to thank everybody for their reviews and construtive criticism! Luv Da Bunnys, YoursTruly13, n a g a s h i . n o . k u r o, and DotCiki! Thanks so much, everybody!

We take off now from Margot's point of view. [: Enjoy.

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I sat down in the assembly after inquiring who Dagbert Endless was. The kids had given me weird stares, and then pointed to a boy sitting at one end of a row of chairs nearest the large stage. There was an empty chair next to him, but if I sat there, I'd be between him and the scary looking doll twins. When the guy on stage…Dr. Bloor, I think, cleared his throat, I had no choice. I rushed into the seat, ignoring the stares and giving Dagbert a big smile. "Hey," I whispered. I rolled up the headphones that had been around my neck with my iPod, after a kind girl with purple hair had told me that they weren't allowed back in the hall. She seemed nice.

The boy looked up. His curtain of seaweed hair had hidden his eyes from me. I couldn't help but gasp a little when I saw their stunning aquamarine color. He was pale, with a straight nose and full, pink lips. I blinked…he blinked…then his lips spread into a closed, yet shark like smile. "Hi." Cute. Menacing, a little creepy, but cute.

I handed him the note I'd been carrying. "So, I'm apparently your responsibility." He opened it…his eyes widened, but the smile stayed. "Margot Blythe. You're the fi-"

I cringed. "Yeah, yeah, sure. Whatever." How could he know? I mean, yeah. Kids automatically kind of got the vibe that I was…endowed. But nobody knew what I could do…unless…my gaze drifted to Dr. Blood, rattling on about responsibility. My eyes narrowed; the dirty snitch told the other kids.

Dr. Bloor and I were already off to a bad start. Not only had he told somebody about my endowment, when I'd first met him, he'd gripped my hand way too tight during the handshake, been way too chummy, way too much like a snake. His son hadn't been much better.

Shaking my head at the man onstage, I looked at Dagbert, "What can you do?" He shrugged, eyebrows rising. "I'm a drowner." My eyes widened, but I didn't shy away. "Ever used it?" His smile reappeared. "Once or twice." I thought he was joking.

The lecture was over, and Dagbert took me through my classes. English, History, Math, Science, break somewhere in between. It was a lot like my old school, except back in Cali, I'd never had to wear a cape. I didn't have Tancred or Dagbert in any of my classes, and the seat next to mine in History had been empty, so I didn't have a partner. Though, I _did_ formally meet Dagbert's freaky friends. And when I say freaky, I mean _freakier than me_. That doesn't happen very often. It was like an interrogation. They were all asking me about my endowment during break, so I skipped lunch and hung out in the Music coat room. I may love my endowment, but that doesn't mean I wanna talk battle strategy with anybody.

During music, my last class, I finally got to take Iggy out. Now, how did _I_, a mere girl of 5'3", handle a six foot or so bass? Easy. I'm pretty damn good, and I've practiced. Of course, I was the only girl playing something un-delicate in the strings room.

I was introduced as, "Margot Blythe, the new bass player!" I smiled, "Yo," with a little two fingered salute. One boy, young but wiry, in the first violin seat, grinned at me. I grinned back. It was second nature.

We played through the period, my teacher eyeing me the entire time, quite obviously testing my skill. At the end, I was fairly sure I'd passed.

"Hey."

The violin boy looked up from his case at the end of class. The bell had rung, Iggy had been put away, and school was sort of over…not for me, though. I had to find the king's Room for an hour of study. He smiled, "Hi!"

"Um…" I went right out and said it, "You know you're a total musical genius, right?" Compliments make people like you, right?

He grinned, waving his hand sort of. "Oh, no, thank you, but I'm not. _You_ might be, though. That is great handling on your bass!"

I laughed, "Thank you, his name is Iggy. But seriously, has anybody ever told you you're spectacular?"

He giggled at me, "Oh, you give me too much credit! But thanks." He held out his free hand, "I'm Fidelio Gunn. Nice to meet you, Margot Blythe! And this," he hefted his violin, "Is Adeline."

Chuckling, I shook his hand. We walked out of class together, and I tentatively asked, "So, uh…look, my guide bolted, and I need to find the…King's Room."

"Oh?" Fidelio looked at me curiously. "Are you one of the endowed?"

"No!" I gushed. "I just need…to…talk…to…somebody in…there…" I glanced at him, sheepishly looked away.

"It's nothing to be ashamed of!" he said, "Why, some of my best friend's are endowed! You'll like them for sure!"

"…Really?"

He nodded, smiling. "C'mon, I'll lead you there."

We walked and talked, mostly about music, then about what would happen after I exited the King's Room. He said to hitch up with a kid named Charlie Bone and I could have dinner at their table, he'd introduce me to some of the girls so I would know where to sleep and stuff.

We got there before he could say anything else. Waved bye, then entered the room…I was nervous.

I walked in to see…well, Dagbert. And his freaky friends, the twins, the snooty blonde girl, the boy with leaves and paper sticking to him. I sucked in a deep breath. There was one more face there, one who scared the absolute living stuffing out of me. He made my blood run cold.

That boy. Manfred.

He had been at Dr. Bloor's side during registration, and I had no idea why, but they knew who we were. They knew who I'd inherited my talent from. And they knew who my father was. They had eyed me greedily, like a piece of meat. As soon as dad had told them _exactly_ what I could do, they flipped. Suddenly, I was top priority.

His eyes lit up…coal black and disgusting looking. "Ah, _Margot_! Welcome, welcome!" Dagbert looked at me and huffed, "You ditched me." I shrugged apologetically. "I had music." Manfred shot him a look, and then grinned even wider. "Come, come, Margot, sit! I'll introduce you to everybody when they show up." He looked around and sneered. "Not that anybody important isn't here already."

Just then, a skinny boy with mussy brown hair sat down, followed by a tiny boy with white hair and crimson eyes. Albino. Both of them were from the music department. They looked up at me curiously. Another boy walked in, followed by a girl. The boy had chin length, stringy black hair and a long nose, with a long face, but a kind smile and a blue cape. The girl had her blonde hair in a ponytail, and a green cape like Tancred's. Art. She smiled at me, shyly, before sitting down and joining the others in a silent stare.

"Everybody here?"

"No, M-sir, we still need T-" The Albino boy began.

"NOT IMPORTANT!" he boomed. He smiled brightly, all of a sudden, and then pushed me a little forward. "This, children, is Margot. She is very, very talented, and she is one of the endowed. She also happens to be a distant cousin of mine." The way he made sure to enunciate _distant_ made my stomach churn. He was gripping my shoulders much too tight, and I was closer to him then I would have liked. "Everybody show her some welcome."

And then…he rushed into the room, grabbing a seat next to the boy with stringy hair. He glanced apologetically at the first boy, the one with hair that was seriously messy. Had something gone wrong in the gel department?

"TORSSON!" Boomed Manfred. "You're late!"

"Brilliant deduction, sir." The snappy comeback, played back with nonchalance, already had me grinning a little bit.

"Anymore of your cheek and its detention for you, Torsson!" Manfred seemed to be going red in the face, staring down Tancred. Tancred stared back defiantly, before Manfred grumbled something and continued, "Margot, pay no attention to that boy. He's just a delinquent."

Tancred's brow furrowed. And then, he found me behind the hulking form of Manfred. His eyes went wide before a grin spread on his face. "_Hi_, Blythe."

I smiled back uneasily. _"Hey_, Torsson."

"Margot?" I looked up. Manfred was staring at me with those eager eyes again, possesive hand on my shoulder. "Margot, dear, why don't you show the children your endowment…and who you're descended from." He smiled smugly, straight at the first boy, who leaned forward. All the children stared at me. Dagbert and his friends were grinning excitedly, while the rest just sort of…cocked their heads in confusion. I sighed. "Um, I'd rather-"

"I INSIST," he said, staring at me with his coal black eyes. I turned away. He gripped my arm a little harder. I stared at Tancred, before resolving myself to my fate.

See, I'm almost a _direct_ descendent of Borlath. Evilest of all the Red King's children. But my family…the Blythe's. My great grandfather was fed up with evil. He ran away, married a mortal, and…well, years later. I was a Blythe…but technically a Bloor. But a Blythe…look, it was complicated. I hated history to begin with. My own confusing family past wasn't any exception.

So, I held out an upturned fist to the room. Tancred stared quizzically. I opened my fist…and a collective gasp went through the room.

There, contained in my palm, was a bright orange flame. It flickered, breathed, lived. I heard Manfred mumble, "Marvelous!" And I saw Tancred's horrified face, along with the other kids who I hadn't met. I winced at him, then quickly closed my fist and sat down in the only seat left, directly across from Tancred, next to Dagbert.

I can't decide now if it was just the initial shock of the fact that there was a Fire Starter in the room, or if they were truly afraid of me, but the faces on those kids almost made me cry. They all stared at me as I sat. The new kids looked at me like I was a monster. Dagbert and his friends licked their lips, with greedy eyes and curious faces. Whatever. It wasn't like I wasn't used to being an outcast. It just kind of hurt that they already decided I was…a freak. A freak among _other_ endowed kids.

You really know you're a freak then.

* * *

So, where the HECK is Tracy? (You still haven't answered that yet, Luckie.) Why do all the kids hate Margot? (They don't exactly _hate_ her, just...fear for their safety around her. And assume she's evil. Ahem.) Was that purple haired girl Miss Olivia Vertigo? (Who else do you know with purple hair?) Is Margot a Mary Sue? (I'm hoping she's not. I'm trying hard, but do tell me if she's Mary Suish, okay?)

Thank you all! See you soon!


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